So I want to give a quick rundown of the divisions and the best way to do that is to jot down a quick top 10 and a few comments. It will sort of set the stage as I return to blogging regularly. As with MMA priorities in general… I start with the big guys and work my way down.
- Fedor Emelianenko – No Surprise here as The Last Emperor gets on board with yet another number two organization in U.S. MMA and leaves us with more questions than answers. I truly hope that Fedor is not looking on second past the Brett Rogers fight in November because Rogers is a tough man who is as motivated and hungry as anyone in the sport. Fedor will get the chance to show the world just how good he is, now lets see if he gets it done.
- Brock Lesnar – It almost hurts to put him here. Not that I have anything against him but his rise was so quick and his star is now shining so bright that I think it hasn’t fully registered with me. You can talk all you want about the advantageous match-ups that he has been given but the fact remains that he has three solid wins in a row and hasn’t looked to be in too much trouble at any point in any of them. He will have plenty more chances to show the world he is legit and plenty of time to learn and grow in the sport.
- Big Nog – I will stand by it, the Big Nog we saw fight Randy Couture had almost nothing in common with the one we saw fight Frank Mir. The Nog we saw the last time out was stronger, faster, and much more confident in the cage. That is the Nog I want to see fight and the Nog that I surprisingly enough think would make Brock work hard for a win. His bounce back from disappointment and a big loss is almost as impressive to me as it would be if he had finished Mir. This pick is more based on skill than recent record but you get the point.
- Josh Barnett – I declared that I no longer cared what happened to Barnett after his last Affliction debacle and I really don’t. I am just not that interested in seeing him fight right now. It doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the best HWs in the world.
- Cain Velasquez – The lack of recognition for this guy and his skills is a headscratcher. He has looked nothing but impressive, even showing solid recovery time and resilience in his mauling of Kongo. Rothwell proved to be nothing but a speedbump and Velasquez is looking more and more like a top contender every day.
- Brett Rogers – I had Arlovski quite high on my list before he fougth Grim and I think a young fighter can get a bit of a boost just for fighting Fedor these days. Many of Roger’s early performances were not that impressive to me but when he KOed AA and then talked us all through exactly how he did it, it couldn’t really be called a fluke. He looked sharper in his last few fights and I have been really impressed with him as of late.
- Shane Carwin – I am not nearly as high on Carwin as I am Velasquez but you can’t deny that he has the wins. I really don’t think he is deserving of or ready for a title shot but we will find out about all that in January.
- Frank Mir – Mir is another guy that I am not really that high on. I think he could enjoy marginal success in the UFC if he gets the right match-ups but his last two wins have a air of doubt surrounding them given the match-ups and circumstances of both. Wins are wins and he is still in my top 10, despite thinking the two fighters that follow him are flat out better then he is.
- Junior Dos Santos – Dos Santos is a guy that I think could give Brock problems. He is also a blue chip prospect in my book. I am excited to see him fight Gonzaga in 2010 because I think it will be a good test for the Brazilian striker. I would like to put him at about 7 but his record just doesn’t support it.
- Andreia Arlovski – I know the guy is coming off two brutal knockouts but before that AA had really put together a nice string of victories. He is the kind of guy that can get back to his winning ways real quick. I hope that someone in the MMA world makes sure he is challenged by a legit HW in the not too distant future.
No comments:
Post a Comment